IPO ahoy! | NIL deals | Golden lobster rolls

Welcome to the BBJ's LinkedIn Weekly Edition! This is Managing Editor Don Seiffert bringing you the local business news you need to know this week, plus some news that you might not actually need to know, but will give you something to talk about while watching the Celtics-Mavericks Game 2 on Sunday.

Local college athletes cash in

With the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, it’s easy for us New Englanders to forget that there’s a such thing as college sports. And that elsewhere in the country, they’re actually a big deal — moreso than pro sports leagues.

But this week, sports business reporter Trajan Warren brings us a story about how college sports may not be as under-the-radar in New England as we thought, at least in one important respect: name, image and likeness deals with local athletes. Those sponsorship deals have only been allowed since 2021, when the NCAA caved to years of pressure from those who argued that players, and not just universities, ought to financially benefit from the popularity of college sports.

Trajan was able to find some local examples of NIL deals, including a distance runner at Harvard University and a freshman hockey player at Brown University . He also spoke with former Celtic starting center Kendrick Perkins , now a co-founder of a Boston-based NIL-investment platform who says, “At the end of the day, (NIL) is going to touch the Boston area, and it’s going to be successful.”

Speaking of sports, see below for more on the Celtics playoffs run.

• • •

Never miss a story: sign up for Boston Business Journal's emails to get the latest business news in your inbox twice a day. Already signed up and loving the work we do? Consider subscribing for less than $3 a week.

• • •

Here's what else happened this week

Wells Fargo eyes Boston

Trajan also reports that Wells Fargo Advisors , the wealth management arm of the San Francisco-based global banking giant, is expanding locally with a relocation from Two International Place to 125 High Street, and plans to open a second, boutique office in the Prudential Center. “Is it safe to say we’re gonna make a splash in Boston? I would say 100%,” said High Street branch manager Stacy Poli .

• • •

Biotech layoffs aren't going away

The stock market is hitting record highs. Boston even notched its second IPO of the year on Friday — both of them for drug developers. So why are layoffs still happening in the biotech sector? Hannah Green asked that question of a few experts and got some answers.

• • •

Developers battle in court

Greg Ryan reports that The Davis Cos. is trying to dismiss a lawsuit from Waltham real estate firm Paino Associates, the former owner of a Waltham property once slated to be a life sciences development. Paino sued Davis in April over 455 Totten Pond Road, which Davis bought from Paino in 2021 intending to build a life sciences project on the property. But things changed.

• • •

Charles River Laboratories opens Somerville site

The Wilmington-based contract research company is opening a Charles River Accelerator and Development Lab (CRADL) site on Chestnut Street in Somerville at the end of July. Hannah has the details.

• • •

Gold-garnished lobster roll

What's the perfect meal when you're sitting in TD Garden just after having paid $4,150 for a ticket to the Celtics vs. the Mavericks in the NBA Finals? A $150 lobster roll with gold leaf painted on it.

• • •

Our Best Places to Work program recognizes the importance of cultivating a great workplace culture as a competitive advantage. The event is coming up on June 13. Get your tickets now!